Joey recently was able to pull undoubtedly one of the most influential musicians known in the Tampa area. Angel Bartolotta has been behind the kit on numerous tours domestic and abroad, won awards and have worked with the top names in this circus we call the music scene. We were able to pull him away from the drawing board to answer the questions our readers have from his ever growing project Team Cybergeist to his departure from heavy hitters, Dope.

Joey: First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to join this interview. Now, you recently just played your first show as a band with Team Cybergeist in almost two years "The Quartine Riot Ball"; With your success of the bands return, what's next for Team Cybergeist?

Angel Bartolotta: The first thing on my list is finishing the new album, "The Other Side Of Fate". It's true that we've been out of the limelight for the last year or two, but we've been everything but quiet. We've been working hard on new music. The new album will have a more focused sound, but will still feature collaborations and guest performances as Team Cybergeist's past releases have showcased.

Members of Shinedown, Stone Sour, Coal Chamber, Soil, Static-X and many others will make appearances on "The Other Side Of Fate". The new album has already been written and recorded. We recently began mixing and we're looking at a late 2014 release date. Between mixing sessions, we'll be playing a small handful of shows, just to stay active and to test some of the new material in a live setting. On July 19th, we're headlining The Haven in Winter Park, Florida.

J: Are you going to keep your focus on TC or can we expect you to keep up with your reputation of being known for touring with various national acts?

AB: I've always been a hired gun, but right now my main focus is Team Cybergeist

J: You have toured several different continents with a number of bands. A big question to fellow musicians such as myself who haven't left U.S soil, how do crowd/show responses differ from shows here in the U.S?

AB: I've toured all over the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Fifteen countries total. Aside from the scenery and language barriers, there isn't a lot of differences from the crowds at the shows. The music, energy, and chemistry between the band and the fans is always amazing. No matter where you are, people will always love live music!

J: You've recently departed with Dope, how did that come to be?

AB: I played drums for Dope for seven years (longer than any other drummer, I believe) and the reason for my recent absence is mainly geography. Edsel Dope (founder, singer, and main songwriter of the band)needed local area musicians to play in the band. Dope was based out of Chicago (now Los Angeles), but I live in Florida, the guitarist lives in Pennsylvania, and the bass player lives in Tennessee. As you could imagine, things got expensive when it came time to tour, record, or do anything that required all of us to be in the same place at the same time. Even something as simple as a photo shoot became hard to coordinate. The workload was overwhelming, as i'm sure you can imagine.

So Edsel got a whole new band of killer musicians. I just saw them on a recent tour, they rocked! Aside from the distance, there is another reason for my absence. My family recently went through some tragedies. Nothing I really want to talk about here. But with these happenings, I really couldn't relocate to Chicago or LA. I needed to be in Florida with my family. This is where I want to be.

Along with a long list of musicians, I'm still listed as an active member of Dope. The lineup is forever changing, and it's not uncommon for past members to make an appearance from time to time. So yea, I might be back. But as I said before, I'm putting everything I have into Team Cybergeist right now.

J: On this album, "The Other Side Of Fate", as you stated before, your working several big names in music. What are the chances of bringing back revolving special guest for the live shows in the future?

AB: When Team Cybergeists tours, we try to hit the cities where some of our studio collaborators live. If they come out to the shows, they'll be on stage with us for sure. It's happened before and it will happen again. We're a family of musicians we love doing what we do. Both in the studio and live on stage.

J: Who is behind the latest released single from TC, "Rip The Stitch"?

AB: "Rip The Stitch" is the first single off the upcoming full-length Team Cybergeist album "The Other Side Of Fate". I did all of the digital percussion, loops and synths, Sally Debauchery played bass and recorded the vocals, Jason Schmidt did the guitar tracks, Roy Mayorga from Stone Sour sent some additional percussion, and Meegs Rascon from Coal Chamber recorded the guitar solo. Sally, Jay and I were the main songwriters.

The chemistry was there because we've been performing on stage together for five years. It all came together so easily, which sometimes dosent happen with a project like this (since we work with so many different artist). I'm super proud and excited about the way this song turned out. We just released a live performance music video for "Rip The Stitch", which can be viewed at www.YouTube.com/TeamCybergeist. "The Other Side Of Fate" is due out later this year.

J: In your opinion, what is the state of our Tampa Bay music scene, and what does it mean to you being that this is the main place you shined out of in your career thus far?

AB: Tampa is where I got my start (on a professional level), playing in bands like Genitorturers and Crossbreed. I also hosted open jams at a few local clubs in the area. I think Tampa has a great music scene. The people are loyal and Team Cybergeist has a great fan base there. That's why we picked the Bay area to do our comeback show.

J: Alright i'll wrap this up and let you get back to the lab. Thank you very much Angel for taking the time allow me to interview you on behalf of Blaque Promotions and Examiner.com. Anything else you would like to say to the "Radiation Nation" out there?

AB: Stay tuned! 2014 is going to be a big year for Team Cybergeist. Lots of shows and a brand new album. We're back!

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Joseph Aceto aka "Joey Blaque" was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area. Best known as owner of Blaque Promotions and former drummer of bands such as St. Valentines Massacre (Megaforce records). As a promoter based out of the Tampa area Joey has grown a strong love for the local music scene and all those who contribute to it, whether a band or fan.